Garlicky Broccoli and Edamame Stir-Fry

I fry, you fry, we all love to stir-fry!


OK, I'm not going to spend a lot of time rambling on about my inspiration for this recipe.  Mostly because I don't have a good story.  Yesterday was pay-day and I was just excited to buy fresh veggies.  And because I've been feeling a little under-nourished lately, I wanted to make something with tons of veggies in it.  Stir-fry fit the bill, so that's what I went with.

So that's my story.  It wasn't even funny, sorry about that.  However, now I'm going to spend some time teaching you how to make life easier in the kitchen.  Kitchen shortcuts, if you will.

1.  I wanted a strong garlic flavor in this dish, so I used 5 garlic cloves.  But please don't assume I chopped them all!  I don't have time for that nonsense.  Instead, anytime I need minced garlic, I use a garlic press that I got from Pampered Chef a billion years ago.  Honestly, it's one of my favorite kitchen tools, and relatively inexpensive.  But, if you don't have a garlic press, you can buy already chopped garlic in a jar at the grocery store.  Sure, it's more expensive than buying a bulb of garlic, but it lasts a really long time, so it's worth the expense.

2. This was my first time ever using edamame (baby green soybeans).  I'm not sure how to describe it (besides that it tasted like a vegetable???), but I can tell you I really liked it.  I could only find frozen, in-the-pod edamame, so my prep time took longer than expected.  I had to boil the pods, then drain and rinse under cold water, then squeeze the beans out of the pods.  To avoid all that jazz, I would recommend looking for shelled edamame.  You should be able to find it in the produce section, maybe by the tofu and stuff like that.

3. To make this recipe even easier, you could buy prepared orange sauce instead of making your own.  However, I'm too cheap, and I figured I had most of the ingredients at home to make my own sauce.  But check out the ethnic food aisle at your local supermarket.  The San-J brand has lots of yummy flavored sauces to choose from.  Get creative!

Ingredients:
Orange sauce:
1 cup vegetable broth
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp molassas
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced (or pressed!)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 lb frozen broccoli and cauliflower
1 1/4 cup fresh edamame (that was my yield from 1 lb of frozen in-the-pod edamame)
Salt and pepper

Directions:
In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients until well combined.  Set aside.
In a large wok or saute pan, cook onion and garlic over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup water to keep veggies from sticking.  Add pepper and cook another 3 minutes.  Add broccoli and cauliflower, cook for about 2 minutes, then pour in the sauce.  Stir to coat all veggies with the sauce and continue cooking in medium-high heat until sauce begins to bubble and thicken, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in the edamame, reduce heat to medium, and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until broccoli and cauliflower are no longer frozen, but not to the point that they're mushy.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.